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Hand of the Gods: STDx Signs Rising Star "Meziljie"

Sun 12th Nov 2017 - 9:47pm : Gaming

Hi-Rez Studios has smashed into the gaming market with popular titles SMITE and Paladins, but their newest endeavor is slowly on the rise to becoming a center stage esport. Hand of the Gods: SMITE Tactics is a turn-based strategy collectable card game. In several ways, it’s a combination of their previous titles, though the game holds more similarities to Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone, therefore attracting a new wave of card based gamers. You can build a card deck based on mythological gods and creatures from SMITE. While similar games have a play board the cards are placed on, in HotG the board is a huge part of the game. Currently, the game is in its open beta stage and is actively under development. The competitive scene for the title, is also beginning to rise.

With the rise of HotG, comes the rise of outstanding players and SetToDestroyX picked the rising PC star in the masses to bring under the brand. Erik ‘Meziljie’ Tarrodi, is a HotG pro with a story. He hails from Sweden and has been competing in various games since the year 2014, but he wasn’t always chasing card games. League of Legends first caught his interest and between 2014-2015, he won several Go4LoL cups. After a while, he began to realize he wasn’t failing, but wasn’t advancing either. Gaining interest in a game called Duelyst, it led him to finding the beta for Hand of the Gods: SMITE Tactics and so began his competitive career in a completely different direction.

“It’s growing. They’re putting a lot of money into a small game which is attracting players from other card games.” Erik stated when asked how he feels about the HotG eSports community. The signing is another step for SetToDestroyX in expanding their esports presence. Erik was scouted for a couple months at first and when he finalized his contract, he was more than thrilled to join the brand. He’s a man of few words, but let’s his talent speak for itself.

Though he’s no stranger to the podium, he admits he never planned on going pro in any game. His natural talent but humbling character, is what attracted SetToDestroyX’s Manager, Kyle, to him in the first place. “Meziljie's first event drew me in and I began to research the game extensively. As one of the main rising stars in this title, Erik has already had a large impact in the HotG community. Winning his first month in the 'Fall tournament circuit' and being one of the first 2 winners in the $50,000 HRX Founders Tournament Qualifiers; Erik will be playing in the main LAN 50k event in the USA, in January 2018. We are looking forward to developing Erik, providing him the tools and structure to compete at the highest level and watch him continue succeeding as one of the most dominant players in Hand of the Gods community. We are happy to welcome him into our family.” -Kyle Vognsen, Talent & Acquisition Manager.

While Hand of the Gods is still in Beta, Hi-Rez takes their games very seriously when it comes to esports, as both SMITE and Paladins have made the scene and are having tremendous success and traction. SetToDestroyX was one of the first teams to sign a pro team in Console SMITE 2 years ago and currently contracts 1 of the best console Paladins team in the world, STDx is no stranger in investing, developing and competing in the Hi-Rez competitive market. In an effort to reward their early adopters, Hi-Rez are holding a $50,000 Founders Tournament for HotG at Hi-Rez Expo January 2018 in Atlanta. Near the end of October, Erik became the second player to qualify for the upcoming tournament. The feeling of confidence and excitement is mutual between both SetToDestroyX and Meziljie, as the start of the January showdown draws near.